The Next Generation
by Lord High Lord Owlstar
Summary: The heroes are gone. The Black Mage is returning. A new generation of heroes must take their place and fight the Black Mage and the Black Wings. R&R. T for violence (just to be safe).
1. Prologue

The Next Generation

Disclaimer: I do not own Maplestory, any NPC's, the Black Mage, the five heroes, the skills or any of the stuff Nexon owns. I only own my OC's and the story. Hope you guys like it read and review! (Nothing mean though)

**Prologue**

"Behind you!"  
The handsome blond teen whirled around twirling his cane. "Blason Fantome!"  
A giant symbol resembling a playing card flashed in front of monsters face and shattered. The giant horned bull like beast fell to the ground, incapacitated. The teen let out a sigh and stood up straight, adjusting his blue Raven Persona hat.  
"Nice kill, but I'd expect something a little flashier from the Master Thief Phantom."  
A beautiful blond girl with kind, blue eyes and pointed ears stepped out of the shadows."  
"Thanks for the warning Merc, but I could've handled that myself." replied Phantom.  
"Yeah right," the girl said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "And that's Queen Mercedes, ruler of the elves and master of the dual bowguns to you."  
"Whatever, come on lets meet with the others."  
They walked through the darkened halls of the Temple of Time, swiftly but warily. Giant shattered stone pillars lay across the ground littered with the giant armored bodies of the Oblivion Guardians. _"It used to be so peaceful here" _thought Phantom_. "Now the Black Mage has turned it into a wasteland."  
_Not much was known of the Black Mage's past but now he was the enemy of all the good citizens of Maple. The Black Mage rose up in power by using his dark spells to conquer much of Maple World, and recruited many followers to use them to do his dirty work. The Black Mage's ultimate goal was total domination over the entire world.  
Slowly the air filled with the sounds of people whispering.  
"Merc we're almost there," Phantom whispered excitedly, "let's hurry!"

They jogged into a clearing with a giant doorway. It was easily 20 meters tall and it glowed dark purple with all the dark energy. "Hey guys, finally decided to show up?" remarked a light skinned boy with sand brown hair. "We all thought you got lost."  
"Shut up Freud," retorted Phantom. "We ran into Lyka so we had a bit of a delay."  
"Well at least I can ha-"  
"Guys stop arguing," scolded a tanned teenage girl, with a snow white ponytail. "We can't waste time bickering while we have a job to do!"  
The two boys stopped arguing and looked around sheepishly. "Yes I agree with Aran," said a deep female voice inside their minds. "Defeating the Black Mage is of utmost importance."  
"Thanks Afrien," said a pale boy with blue-gray hair. "Let's all get our gear ready."

As Phantom got his equipment and potions ready he pondered his thoughts. "_Gee, it seems just yesterday, we all were just meeting each other to fight the Black Mage." _Really,that wasn't all that long ago. When the Black Mage rose up in power and started taking over Maple World, Empress Aria and the leaders of Maple decided to assemble a team of extraordinary heroes to defeat the Black Mage. The first of these heroes was Freud the dragon master. Freud's spirit pact with Afrien, the queen of onyx dragons made him the most powerful person in Maple World. The second hero was Aran the master of the polearm. Her speed and skill with the normally slow and clumsy weapon went unmatched throughout the warriors of Maple. The third was Mercedes, queen of the elves. She invented her own unique weapons, the dual bowguns, which shoot faster and harder than a regular crossbow. Plus, they can be reloaded automatically. The fourth, Luminous the light magic adept, uses powerful light magic to banish even the darkest evil. _"And then there's me"_ finished Phantom.  
Master thief Phantom was honored among wealthy merchants and thieves alike for never getting caught when stealing valuables. He deliberately left traces when stealing, and even then people did not even know who he was. But while trying to steal the great gem Skaia from Empress Aria, he fell in love with her. When he heard they were gathering heroes to fight the Black Mage, he decided to join the fight to protect Aria. To fight, Phantom uses his cane and a deck of enchanted playing cards to execute deadly attacks.  
Now the 5 heroes are standing before a door. This door will lead them to the Black Mage, and their destinies. Freud interrupted his thoughts. "Okay everyone gather around! Afrien and I came up with a plan. Instead of rushing him all at once, we can split into teams and go one team at a time."  
"Why is this any better than rushing him?" asked Luminous.  
"Well by the time the last team goes in, the Black Mage will be weakened enough so Afrien and I can cast a spell. The spell won't be powerful enough to destroy the Black Mage, but it will hopefully seal him away forever." Freud explained.  
"Okay I got that, but what are the teams?" Inquired Aran.  
"I was thinking that you and Mercedes can go in first and Phantom, Luminous and I can go in last."  
"Sounds like a plan. Let's go Mercedes."

Minutes later, Freud announced to the other two that it was time to go in. Phantom adjusted his hat once more and they walked through the door side by side. The scene they walked into was not a pleasant one. Mercedes lay injured on the floor behind a pillar with Aran standing over her, batting away orbs of dark energy. "Cover me!" Freud yelled while jumping onto Afriens back.  
"Mwaaahahaha! Even your reinforcements shall not defeat me!" roared a deep voice. Phantom whipped his head around toward the source of the voice. The Black Mage wore a dark cloak inscribed with various magic symbols. His hood was pulled over his head so that only his glowing eyes could be seen. The Black Mage raised his wrinkled gray hand and shot another orb of dark energy toward Aran. Phantom jumped in front of her and twirled his cane. "Carte Mille!"  
A spiral of cards flew out of the cane and pushed the shadowy orb away and into the wall. As the Black Mage let out a fresh barrage of orbs, Phantom heard Afrien's voice inside his head. "_Come to us! Freud and I are ready to cast the spell." _  
Phantom jumped and ducked, making his way toward Afrien. Afrien and Freud fought fiercely, casting spell after spell in rapid succession. As Phantom neared Afrien, Freud yelled for Phantom to cast a shield around them so they could cast the spell. "Holy magic shell!"  
A transparent yellow shield appeared around Freud, Afrien and Phantom, dissipating all black energy spheres that made contact with the sphere. "HA! You puny heroes think that shell will hold? Take this!" the Black Mage screamed, raising his free hand to cast a new spell.  
A giant pitch black laser shot out of his hand and collided with Phantom's shell. KRRK! A crack spread across the shell. "Freud hurry it up!" Phantom screamed, holding his hands against the shell. "I can't hold it much longer!"  
"Okay um how did it start again…?" The boy pursed his lips trying to remember "Oh yes I remember now! O holy gods of Maple heed my plea. This evil man has laid waste upon the great lands of the world…"  
Phantom screwed his eyes shut with the strain as pieces of the shell started breaking off and falling to the ground.  
"So I call upon the powers of Afrien the onyx dragon to add to mine and seal this man for eternity!"  
CRASH! The shell shattered, just as Freud finished his spell. A blinding white light flew out of Freud's staff and surrounded the Black Mage. "NOOOOOOOOOO I was so close!" roared the Black Mage. "but I won't be going down without ALL OF YOU!"  
The Black Mage screamed, and a ray of dark energy pulsed out of the Black Mage. Suddenly Phantom's head felt like it was exploding from the inside out. All 5 heroes doubled over, clutching their heads and screamed in agony. One final pulse pumped out of the Black Mage before he exploded in a burst of evil energy. Slowly, piece by piece, the temple started collapsing right onto the 7 individuals and buried them all for eternity.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**_Authors Notes**

Sorry for common spelling and grammar mistakes but again this is my first story. Plz review for any pointers or anything you guys want me to know. Thanks for reading my prologue and I guarantee the next chapter will be apart of the story. Have fun Fan-fictioners!


	2. Chapter 1: Discovery

The Next Generation: Chapter 1 Discovery

Disclaimer: I don't own any maplestory characters, settings or anything nexon owns. I only own my OCs.

To my **ONE **reviewer:Well yeah he did explode, but i needed a better way to kill off the heroes. Also no THE Evan won't appear but you'll just hafta wait and see what happens.

ENJOY THE SHOW!

* * *

"Come on!"

A pretty brunette ran across the dusty hard packed ground.

"Rhia, we aren't allowed to go outside of Edelstein. We should go back." A young boy of about 13 followed slowly behind her. He had short, clean cut hair with bangs that fell to his eyebrows, and he wore plain blue jeans and a black hoody that matched his hair.

"Alan there's no one out here," Rhia sighed, rolling her turquoise eyes. "Besides, it's not like there's anything to do** in** town either."

Rhia was the same age as Alan, and they were both around 5 feet tall. Rhia was of average build and she had a nice hourglass figure. She wore a basic outfit: a white v-neck t-shirt and blue skinny jeans.

"I don't even know how I get dragged into these things," Alan muttered under his breath, pushing up his glasses.

"**Well** Alan," Rhia responded in a matter-of-factly voice. "All the girls at school are stuck up and the guys all try to hit on me. They're so booooring. Besides, we've been friends since like ever right?"

That was true. Alan was always the shy kid and Rhia was always the talkative girl. As soon as they met in kindergarten Rhia immediately took Alan under her wing. They've been friends ever since and they always help each other through tough times. Alan kept Rhia from getting into trouble and Rhia got Alan in trouble. Mmhmm the circle of friendship is so beautiful.

Anyway, Rhia and Alan kept walking and walking until they couldn't see Edelstein on the horizon. At this point Alan was getting worried.

"U-um Rhia, I really suggest we go back now."

"Pfft nonsense! This adventures just gotten started!" Rhia immediately ran off in the opposite direction of Edelstein.

* * *

After a half hour of walking, they sat down for a snack.

"What did you bring?" Rhia leaned over toward Alan as he took out his backpack.

"A mushroom lollypop"

"Only one!?" Rhia gasped in mock surprise. "that's awful selfish don't ya think?."

"Nope" Alan opened his mouth and put the sucker in.

"HEY!"

"Relax Rhia, I got another right here." He pulled another out of his pocket and handed it to her.

As soon as they finished sucking on their candy shrooms, Rhia jumped up and ran off in a random direction. Alan sighed, put on his backpack, and followed after her. As Alan caught up to her, he found her staring up in awe at some giant stone pillars. They resembled giant termite hills with small shafts sprinkled randomly on their surface.

Rhia walked toward one of the closer shafts and peered inside. "Woaaaah Alan you gotta see this!"

Alan walked up behind her and peered over her shoulder. "It looks like a tunnel of some kind. I don't think we should go in…"

However, Rhia was already walking into the dark tunnel with her dainty hands trailing along the wall.

"Of **course** you go in. It's not like I give any **good** advice." moaned Alan as he followed her inside.

As Alan came to the tunnels' end, he heard Rhia's voice echo.

"Awww Alan look at this cute little thing!"

Alan sped up his stride and emerged into a huge cavern. It went higher than he could ever imagine and the walls were made of smooth brown rock. All along the cave wall there were large tanks that could easily hold the average grown man. Alan noticed that each tank held a different animal; most Alan had never seen before. There was one tank that was much smaller than the rest, right smack-dab in the middle of the room. This was where Rhia was.

Rhia was leaning up against it and she was looking through a small square glass window. After marveling at the sheer size of the cave, Alan walked up to Rhia and tapped her on the back. "What's in there?"

"Some kind of egg. It's so cute! I just wanna take it home with me." Rhia squealed with delight.

"Here lemme see." Rhia moved aside to let Alan look through the window. The egg was about the size of Alan's head and it was dark blue and it seemed to have some kind of squiggly symbol imprinted on it.

"Well even if I wanted to go get it, I can't break this giant lock." Alan pointed at a huge lock the size of his fist.

"Don't worry, I've come prepared!" Rhia declared. Rhia reached into her shirt and pulled out a sleek black pistol and pointed it at the lock.

"Wait wait NOO" Alan screamed waving his hands.

BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM!

The lock popped off and the tank's door swung open a crack.

"ARE YOU CRAZY!? WHAT IF SOMEONE HEARD THAT? WHAT IF ONE OF THE BULLETS RICOCHETED AND HIT ONE OF US? WHAT IF-"Screamed Alan, having a panic attack.

"Relax Alan, no one heard us. Now let's take the egg and go home." Rhia pushed open the door and picked up the egg. She cradled it gently in her arms and started cooing at it affectionately, walking back towards the tunnel entrance.

Alan sighed and gently took the egg out of Rhia's hands. "If anyone is going to carry it, it's going to be me. You have a tendency to break things."

Once upon a time, at Rhia's 6th birthday party, she got a porcelain shroomy bank (a piggy bank but it's a shroom.) She was so excited she ran off to her room to put her allowance in it, but she tripped on a wrapped giftbox and shattered the poor shroom. On many other occasions, Rhia has broke, dropped, smashed or ripped many an object without any violent intent. Rhia just, isn't very careful.

* * *

Back in present day, Rhia and Alan were just emerging from the tunnel into the sunlight when they heard a click and a threatening voice. "Stop right there and back away from the egg."

Rhia and Alan slowly turned around and Alan put the egg down. The two pre-teens were horrified at what they saw. Roughly 10 soldiers dressed in black body length uniforms stood in the doorway, pointing guns at the kids' chests. At their groups' head was a short man, mostly because he was slouched over. The man had a big forehead that was topped with greasy slicked back black hair. Over his right eye he wore a black eye patch and had a wispy goatee on his chin. You could say he was creepy, unsightly, scary… all of those would work.

"Woah guys I think this is a little misunderstanding…" Rhia stepped forward slowly, holding her hands up in a peaceful gesture.

"Silence!" shouted one of the soldiers. "Captain Schiller, what should we do with these kids?"

"Let us go…?" Alan suggested shyly.

"BWAHAHAHAHA! Let you go?!" Schiller laughed maniacally at Alan's suggestion. "First of all, you two **kids** trespassed on private property, broke into our laboratory, stole and disrupted a vital experiment, and now you want us to **let you go?** You kids are pathetic."

Schiller raised his pistol and pointed it at Rhia. "Prepare to die."

Rhia flinched and cried out, just as Schiller pulled the trigger. BANG!

Rhia peeked out from her hands and looked at Alan in confusion. Alan shrugged and returned with another confused look.

"Damn kids!" Roared Schiller, raising his gun for another round of bullets. BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!

Both Alan and Rhia flinched this time, but neither of them was hurt. This time Alan noticed a difference. When the shots were fired, a transparent turtle shell pattern appeared out of thin air and blocked the bullets. He was positively puzzled.

"RRRRRRGGGGGGGG! Everyone open fire!" Schiller let out another round of shots, joined by his comrades.

Alan looked closer and saw the energy shield appear again. _"Interesting…"_

Suddenly he heard a masculine voice yell at him. "RUN!"

Alan and Rhia turned around and started to run away from the soldiers.

All of a sudden, Alan stopped in his tracks.

A sharp pain had ripped through his chest. Alan couldn't breath.

_"I just got shot in the chest."_

That was his last thought as his vision went totally black.

* * *

I apologize to my few readers for taking a looong time to update. I've been awfully busy lately but I'll try to update faster for the next chapter. So long and have fun fan-fictioners!

**If you review ill give you a cookie!**

**V**


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